"Man shall not live by bread alone,

But by each word which doth proceed

From God's own mouth"; these we must eat

And let them be our life indeed.

Not just a body we were made,

But body, soul, and spirit too;

The inmost part the spirit is

To contact God and Him pursue.

Just as we need the earthly food

Our body's need to satisfy,

We need the food for spirit too —

Thyself, Thy Word, its true supply.

Thou art the Spirit, and Thy Word

Thy very Self expressed doth make;

Thus, it is Spirit as Thyself,

Which by our spirit we must take.

Thus, to receive Thy Word is not

To read it only with our eyes

And understand it in our mind,

But 'tis the spirit's exercise.

Thy Word in spirit we must eat

And to our inmost part receive;

'Tis by our spirit's exercise

To pray with what our minds perceive.

Thy Word remaining in our mind

Is only knowledge burdensome,

But when it to the spirit goes

Then life and spirit it becomes.

'Tis only when our spirit acts

To take Thy Word and contact Thee,

We truly feed upon Thy Word

And touch Thyself most inwardly.

Lord, teach us how to exercise

Our spirit when Thy Word we read;

Then will our spirit nourished be

As thus upon Thyself we feed.